A 2006 study examining 90 cases of healthcare serial killers from twenty different countries between 1970 and 2006, found that 86% of those who became serial killers within healthcare were nurses, both male and female.
Further research has categorized healthcare serial killers in accordance with their motives. These categories show the range of motivations and psychological rewards achieved by those in the medical profession who kill their patients. According to Dr. Khin Khin, they can often be categorized into the following groups:
Thrill Seekers – these are individuals who achieve a thrill from the act of killing, a thrill that they want to repeat over and over again.
Power Oriented – in this group, they kill to achieve a feeling of power and control. Dr. Harold Shipman is an example of a medical serial killer who falls within this category.
Gain Motivated – these individuals receive something from the act of killing, this may be relieving a burden by removing the patient from their care or they may be able to steal money or belongings from the patient.
Missionary Killers – less common, these are serial killers within healthcare who believe they are doing a good deed by getting rid of people who are “immoral or unworthy” in some way.
Further to categorization by motives, studies have identified a number of character traits and behaviors which may when combined, be a warning sign for a potential medical serial killer;
History of mental instability
Preference for night shifts, or shifts with fewer staff and supervisors on duty
History of difficult personal relationships
A tendency to ‘predict’ when a patient will die
Felt patients were a burden to them and an annoyance
Had a problem with substance misuse
Often moved from hospital to hospital
https://www.crimetraveller.org/2018/06/healthcare-medical-serial-killers/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17199622/
I caught a MD...doing something once..to a woman on a Vent. I took it to the top. That was worthless. I saved the woman....and that's all that mattered.